Chamber and committees

What did people at your school say when you had raised that huge sum of money and were able to give them a bottle?

How did you feel?

Have you had similar experiences, Pauline, or are there other areas that you want to comment on?

I welcome Pauline Nolan and Jenny Miller to the meeting and thank them for their opening statements.

You mentioned the concerns that women have about their financial security now and in the future. We are well aware that, during the pandemic and even prior to it, disabled women were having to deal with cost of living issues, and the situation has only been exacerbated in recent times. It would therefore be good to hear your views on issues in that respect that are specific to disabled women. However, I note that other factors come into it, too, including age—in other words, how old women are and what they are having to deal with—ethnic background, whether someone is a lone parent and the impact of that on their financial security and stability. We have heard a lot about individuals having to make choices, one of which might be between eating or heating, and how they have managed such circumstances.

It would be good to hear from Jenny Miller, to begin with, and then from Pauline Nolan about their experiences in that regard. Do you feel that women from a certain individual background are more susceptible to or more in crisis because of the challenge to their financial security and because of the situation in which they find themselves every day—having to manage their family, their lifestyle and their opportunities?

Thank you.

Please do.

Thank you very much. That covers my questions, convener.

Trishna Singh, did you want to come in?

I commend the witnesses for their the outstanding contributions this morning. The evidence session has been quite enlightening.

I want to go back to the issue of education, training and employment. You have made it quite clear that there is definitely a need to support women from ethnic minorities in building their confidence back after the pandemic. What do we need to do in the short and medium term to make that a reality? From what I am hearing today, it is quite obvious that we are failing women from that section of society.

There are many obstacles and barriers—indeed, you have talked about them already and we are aware of them from evidence that we have previously taken—but there has to be a way back for all communities. With regard to your community—the ethnic minority community—who are disadvantaged and are not progressing to what is required, what lessons can be learned to ensure that we actually go forward, not back? What I am hearing is that we are taking a backward step, confidence has been lost and individuals do not feel that they are worthy and are not able to progress into management roles or get opportunities. Perhaps we need a sea change and should try to make that happen.

Perhaps we can hear from Joy Lewis first, as she has vast experience of the sector, and then Mariam Ahmed. If others want to respond, I will be happy to hear from them.

Thank you very much indeed for that good and in-depth answer. Mariam, do you wish to respond?